The Art of Gravity

NOAH ANDREWS

Tempting?

Tempting him to do what? He's so confusing. Were we friends or not? One day he's bringing me to places he never brings anyone and talking to me about things he's never told anyone and the next he's cold, and ignoring my presence.

I didn't understand why he thought it was so important for me to stay away from him. I wasn't going to get hurt. I was perfectly fine. I didn't know what he was hiding behind those angry eyes, but I knew that I would never judge him for whatever it was.

Sammy stares at me while I stare at Toby from across the hall, like always. He doesn't look my way... like always.

"You've got to get over this obsession. I can't even remember the color of you eyes anymore 'cause you're always staring at Ghost!" Sam says, arms crossed, eyes glaring at me.

I sigh, tearing my eyes away to look down at Sammy, "Jealous?"

He rolls his eyes, "Jealousy is the most stupidest emotion of humanity."

"Are you calling yourself stupid?" I ask, turning around to open my locker.

"I'm not jealous, idiot. I'm angry. We never hang out anymore–"

"We barely 'hung' out in the first place,"

"–and all your attention goes to Ghost. I don't understand. Why stare? What's the point?"

I slam my locker shut, turning to face him, "I'm just curious."

He sighs again, "You've been curious for three years."

If only he knew that it was much longer than that.

"Noah...?" he asks, his face serious. I look him in the eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Do you... Do you like him?" He asks, shocking the shit out of me.

I resist the urge to clutch my chest, my eyes wide, confusion clouding over me.

"No! W — What? No. He's... He — He intrigues me, okay? I don't understand why. I don't know. I just..." I clutch my head, eyes on the floor and searching for an answer.

"I'm sorry, Noah. I just... assumed. You look at him like... like you're scared he's gonna disappear or something. I just thought..."

"I know, it's fine. We're — We're okay." I confirm, pulling him into me. Losing Sammy was a thought that I couldn't comprehend. Even though I wasn't sure if we were friends, we acted like it. So, I didn't like the idea of us not acting like it.

His question scared me. I had never questioned my sexuality. I didn't think about anything like that at all. Liking Toby never occurred to me either. I didn't think I liked him. I didn't think of him as cute or anything like that. Granted, no one would call him cute. Handsome maybe, but not cute.

Even if I did like the way he held me to his chest that night, it didn't mean that I liked him. It was just natural for me. Being able to sleep peacefully and find comfort in the arms of another was a huge accomplishment. I felt safe that night. There were no demons dancing in my head to keep me up.

My thoughts completely disappeared when he was present. Was that what it was like to like someone? Wouldn't I have known if I did like him by now?

Ignoring my brain, I glanced over at Toby, surprised to find his eyes in my direction as well. He wasn't looking at me though. His eyes follow the way I've wrapped my arm around Sam, him snuggled close to my chest.

Then, he leaves, an unknown emotion in those otherwise angry eyes.

•. •. •.

"Noah! Can you please get the mail?"

I sigh dramatically, my mother's voice was so inhumanly loud and it was not helping the headache forming in my brain.

I drag myself from my bed, and slip on the slides that lay close to me. Deciding to keep on my boxers decorated with various meteors on them, I trudge down stairs to get the fucking mail.

"Hey, Noah? When your done, can you fix me a cup of coffee?" My father says from the kitchen. I grit my teeth in irritation. He was literally right there, in the fucking kitchen, right by the fucking coffee machine.

Everything and everyone was annoying me this morning, and maybe that was because my brain was now a pile of absolute shit after dealing with Toby. No one is that confusing.

Rubbing my head with the tips of my fingers, I make my way outside to a strange sight.

Toby's mother was making her way towards me, wearing nothing but a thin, white night gown. She seemed to be limping, and I frowned, waiting patiently for her to get to me.

"Noah... You've grown up a bit, haven't you?" She asks, timidly. Her thin form was shaking slightly, and her eyes flickered from side to side anxiously.

"Yes ma'am... Are you okay?" I ask her, and she nods her head rapidly.

"Uh.. Y — Yes.  I was just looking for Tobias... Is he here?" She says, limping closer.

I blink in shock as she trips on a branch left in my yard, and starts to fall backward.

I rush forward, catching her and holding onto her arm. The sleeve of her gown slips up and I frown at the small bruises scattered all around her wrist.

"Are you sure you're okay, Mrs. Mitchell?" I ask, and she nods again, standing up on her own feet, very slowly.

"Yes, yes. Have you seen Tobias?" She asks, more urgently and I shake my head.

She wraps her arms around herself, "Oh. I thought... I'm sorry. I — didn't mean—"

"Ma!"

I turn around at the sound of his voice, and watch as Mrs. Mitchell falls into her sons's arms. She starts to cry, and sob brokenly and I watched in concern, knowing I was probably witnessing something not meant to be seen by my eyes. Is this what he meant?

Toby's eyes meet mine as he whispers into his mother's ear and hugs her against his chest.

I stand there awkwardly, clutching the mail in my small hands.

I watch his lips move, mouthing out to me.

Go.

So, I do. I leave, and I go inside. I hand my mother her mail, and I fix my father his coffee, and I pretend that I didn't just see what I saw. Whatever it was I saw.